


First Date

by Ms_C_Marie



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, westallen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 20:36:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5799103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ms_C_Marie/pseuds/Ms_C_Marie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a continuation of the title, "Breakfast."<br/>Iris and Barry go on their first date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Date

Barry paced the hallway and glanced at his watch. He had arrived at The Annex twenty minutes early to make sure he wasn't late. He was nervous and excited and really hoped Iris liked what he had planned. She had gotten held up at CCPN and would meet him there. She sounded a little leery when he told her the address. She couldn't fathom why they were meeting at the old elementary school on the east side of town. He wouldn't tell her any more details, though. He wanted it to be a surprise. 

When he checked-in, he noticed that many of the other participants were early as well. Seating was limited to 20 people and three of the five workstations were already full. It had taken a few phone calls, but he had been lucky to get two tickets for tonight.

He checked his phone. He hoped Central City wouldn't need The Flash tonight. There was a text from Iris. "OMW!" He looked at the time stamp. 5:40 PM. That meant she should be pulling up right about now. Barry whooshed down the stairs and to the front entrance and looked out for her car.

Iris frowned and craned her neck to make out the street signs. She couldn't believe how much this part of the city had changed. There seemed to be new construction underway everywhere she looked. The area still lacked any restaurants or entertainment venues so she had no clue what Barry had planned. Her crinkled brow disappeared when she thought about the flowers he'd sent to CCPN around lunch time. It was a pleasant surprise, especially since she was having a hectic day. When she pulled back the cellophane and pink tissue paper, a waft of sweet, fragrant air nuzzled her nose and she looked down to see a large, beautiful white bloom. She reached in and pulled out a small card and a small envelope. The card identified the flower, Paeonia Lactiflora 'Gardenia' (Peony), and had care instructions on the back. Immediately, she was back in her living room on a Sunday afternoon long ago singing along to Billie Holiday CDs with Barry and her father. Barry had run to the back yard and plucked a carnation to put in her hair so that she would resemble the picture of Lady Day on the CD cover. Iris hugged the memory. When she opened the small envelope and removed the card, Barry's neat handwriting simply said: "Somebody's on my mind..."

Iris spotted Barry in front of the school as soon as she turned the corner. She felt a flutter in her stomach. Even in the distance he looked handsome in his dark suit. As she parked the car, Barry raced to open her door and held out his hand to help her out. He was mesmerized when she swung her shapely legs out of the car and took his hand as she stood up and shimmied her form-fitting dress down a bit. It was red. His heart was racing. She smiled warmly up at him. Even in heels he still towered above her. 

"I hope I didn't make us late," she said. "I got a little turned around."

He noticed her rosy-red lips move, but wasn't sure what she had said. He was still appreciating her in that dress. Too bad he wasn't in the suit. The suit had a defibrillator. He might need one before the night was over. He felt her fingers grasp his chin. 

"Earth to Barr...what are we doing here?"

He sucked in some air, closed the car door, and guided her by the small of her back to the entrance of The Annex. 

"This is the old East Side Elementary School. It's an historic building, so it was never torn down, but it had been boarded up for over a decade. Last year a group of philanthropists purchased the property and renovated it. Now it's called, The Annex, and they offer tons of classes and unique experiences. Some of these events are fundraisers for local charities."

"Sounds like a great initiative. Why haven't I heard anything about this?"

"They haven't had their official launch yet. You can consider this their beta stage. Capt. Singh's husband is on the board."

"So we're taking a class?"

"Sort of. You've heard of Chef Roland of Bistro Six, right?" Barry knew Iris was a bit of a foodie.

"Yeah, Bistro Six is the hottest new restaurant in town. It's impossible to get a reservation there and Chef Roland has been getting a lot of national acclaim."

"Well, tonight he is the guest chef and he is going to lead an intimate group of 20 in cooking a three-course dinner featuring his signature dishes. And if we don't completely mess it up, we get to eat it. Plus, the proceeds from tonight will benefit the Central City Women's Shelter.

"Barry, this is so awesome!" Iris was giddy.

Barry smiled. "I already checked-in, but we should get upstairs." He took her hand and led the way. There was no way he was going to climb the stairs behind her.

Barry's hand felt warm and strong in hers. She was impressed earlier with the flowers and now she was impressed that he had planned such a special evening.

When they entered the upstairs classroom, Iris noticed the large room was split into two areas. One side of the room had a demonstration area at the front which was banked by rows of steel tables and stove tops. The other side of the room had small bistro tables topped with white table clothes and votive candles. She noticed Barry was still holding her hand and squeezed it lightly. They crossed the room and settled at an open workstation. An assistant came over and handed Barry two aprons and a menu card. As Iris tied the giant apron around her petite frame and pulled her hair back into a loose knot, Barry removed his jacket, threw on his apron and rolled up his sleeves.

"So...what are we making tonight?" Iris asked.

Barry picked up the menu card and read:

*Parmesan risotto with roasted shrimp

*Sous vide beef with sweet sherry sauce and root vegetables

*Chocolate molten soufflé

He was interrupted by the evening's host who welcomed everyone and introduced Chef Roland and his sous chefs. The plan was to start prepping the dessert first. Before they got started, however, waiters served two specialty cocktails that had been prepared by a mixologist: a blood orange rum punch and a raspberry tequila sangria. Barry and Iris instinctively selected different cocktails, tasted them, and then switched with each other. Appetizers were also served including asian seared scallops, mini grilled cheese sandwiches and mimi pulled pork tacos. Barry's favorite was the mini grilled cheese. He was glad the no one else had shown up at their workstation. It meant he wouldn't have to share Iris or small talk with anyone, plus more mini grilled cheese sandwiches for them.

Another assistant came over and handed Iris the recipe for the chocolate molten soufflé. Barry leaned in to read it. He was so close that she could smell the subtle scent of soap and aftershave. She knew that if she merely turned her head she could kiss him and a warmth rose within her. She didn't move, however, and somehow she felt him inch even closer, yet they still didn't touch. 

Barry was still getting used to the idea that he no longer had to stop himself. He no longer had to stop himself from standing too close or gazing a little too long. As he leaned in to read the recipe card, her essence drew him in and he relished in it. He loved the perfume she wore. Out of the corner of his eye he traced the delicate gold necklace from the nape of her neck to where it dangled between her breasts and imagined placing kisses along the trail.

There was a thud on the work table and they both jumped. An assistant had placed a tray containing milk, flour, butter, bittersweet chocolate, eggs, salt and sugar on the table. Chef Roland had already begun the demonstration. Barry and Iris straightened up and attempted to pay attention. 

Unfortunately, attention and focus abandoned workstation #5. Barry and Iris remained distracted for the rest of the evening which had a pretty disastrous effect on preparing their meal. They laughed at Barry's jokes, Iris playfully hit Barry, and they got lost in each others' gaze all while the chocolate mixture for the soufflé burned, the risotto turned into a big sticky glob and the shrimp were over cooked. Chef Roland had paid their station more than one visit to try to keep them on track. As he walked away after his last trip to playfully reprimand them, Iris turned to Barry and said, "Stop distracting me with your dreamy green eyes, Mr. Allen, or we'll surely starve tonight." 

Luckily for Barry and Iris there was only one sous vide oven to cook the beef and a sous chef was put in charge of it. So although their first and third courses were a complete bust, they had perfectly cooked beef drizzled with sweet sherry sauce and steamed vegetables elegantly plated in front of them.

As they took their seats at one of the bistro tables, Iris turned to Barry and said, "So Barr, tell me one thing that I don't already know about you," a best friend's take on the "tell me about yourself" that most people ask on first dates. Barry immediately thought about the erased timeline. It was practically the only thing she didn't already know about him. He wondered if he should tell her now. He didn't want to ruin the evening. "Come on, Barr," she urged, "it can be anything, it doesn't have to be big."

Barry took a deep breath and checked to see if anyone was within earshot. "Iris, there is something that I think you should know." Iris was in the process of bringing her fork to her lips and she put it back down when she saw the serious look on his face. "You know how I went back to save my mom?" Iris nodded and also looked around to make sure no one else could hear. "Well that wasn't the first time I time...traveled." She looked at him quizzically, rose from the table and motioned for him to follow. They walked across the hall and stepped inside an empty classroom, closing the door behind them. Iris looked at Barry expectantly.

Barry continued, "You won't have any memory of this, but last March, Mark Mardon kidnapped Joe to avenge his brother's death. He called you from Joe's phone and told you to meet him at the waterfront if you ever wanted to see Joe again." Barry wrung his hands. 

"Oh my God!" Iris felt knots in her stomach just thinking about it.

"There's more. I went with you and when we got to the waterfront there was a huge storm brewing, a tsunami, caused by Mardon."

"A tsunami?"

"Yeah, it was pretty bad. I told you to get out of there, to get far away from the waterfront."

"I wouldn't have left you! I didn't...did I?" She looked concerned.

Barry shook his head. "Nope. You said, 'I'm not leaving you.'" Barry smiled at the memory. He couldn't help himself. But he was nervous about telling her the rest. Would she be embarrassed? Angry that he had not told her sooner? She was looking at him intently, waiting for him to continue. "And then you said you hadn't been able to stop thinking about me since I told you how I felt at Christmas." 

"And you said, 'I've never stopped thinking about you.'" Iris interrupted. 

"Yeah." Barry blinked. "Wait. How do you know that?" He hoped it wasn't Cisco that had told her. He wanted it to come from him.

"I've heard you mumble that line in your sleep quite a few times this past year. You're always falling asleep on the couch and you know you talk in your sleep. But that's all you say. Then what happened?"

"I kissed you." A barely audible whisper. He was looking down, not meeting her eyes. He hurried to finish. "Then I revealed that I was The Flash, told you to get out of there and ran as fast as I could to stop the tsunami, faster than I had ever run before. I ran so fast that I reset the timeline and erased that day." 

Iris took a step back realizing the gravity of what he had just told her. He had saved them, saved the city. But, in doing so he lost something he wanted and had to live with the memory. This was worse than waking from a dream because it had been real. She remembered a weird day at Jitters, his excitement, the claim to have ESP, the "lightening psychosis." She wondered what their lives would have been like if that day had not been erased.

Barry watched her, her dark eyes. He couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling and instantly regretted telling her tonight. The evening was ruined. Then he felt the vibrations in his pants pocket. Cisco had promised not to call unless it was a dire emergency. He pulled his phone out and glanced at the screen. Central City needed The Flash and he had to go. 

"I'm sorry, Iris. This is the worst timing, but, I have to go."  
She nodded, half-smiled, still lost in thought. 

An hour and a half later with the criminals safely in police custody, Barry leaned back in his desk chair at his lab. He had returned to The Annex, but only the staff remained to clean up. He'd gone home, but no one was there. He had avoided going back to Star Labs. He didn't want to be asked any questions about his date. He was trying to get in touch with Iris, find out where she was, but her phone kept going to voice mail and she hadn't returned his text. Even though they had ruined most of their food and they hadn't eaten anything besides those appetizers, he'd had a great time and he truly believed she had too. Before he told her, that is. He wanted so desperately for her to walk into the lab and fall into his arms. He heard footsteps and looked up, but it was just an officer passing by. So he sat there. Ten minutes later his phone buzzed, a reply to his text: "Sorry, battery died. Also had to check-in at CCPN. Meet me on the rooftop?"

He was there in an instant. She was sitting on a large crate drowning in the suit jacket he had left behind. She smiled when she saw him and held up something wrapped in foil. "I thought you might be hungry. I made you a sandwich. Our beef turned out really good! Even though it's the only thing we didn't have a hand in making." She held out the sandwich and when he reached out to take it she grabbed his arm and pulled him in close. The crate gave her height and she was almost eye to eye with him.

"Iris...," he began, "What I told you earlier, I'm s...."

She pressed her finger tips to his lips. 

"What you told me earlier is unfortunate. She reached up and smoothed his eyebrow and brushed the side of his face. "It's unfortunate that I'll never have a memory of that kiss, but as long as you don't go running anywhere Barr, I'll have memories of this one." She leaned in and kissed him ever softly, ever slowly. She reached up and whispered in his ear, "You are an amazing man, Barry Allen." 

His lips found the soft, delicate spot just behind her ear and nuzzled there as his hands undid the loose knot in her hair. He looked at her as she shook her hair free and it cascaded down past her shoulders. He grabbed her and kissed her, holding nothing back. He kissed her with all the love and emotion that was within him. Her mouth was warm and her tongue tasted of chocolate. He wondered if she'd salvaged dessert or eaten a brownie from Jitters downstairs. 

When their lips parted, her eyes were still closed, savoring the moment. He felt the first couple of raindrops and looked up. "Maybe we should get out of here before it really starts coming down," he warned. He started to pull away but she stopped him and pulled him back to her and kissed him passionately once more. She didn't want this moment to end. Neither did he. But the raindrops quickened their pace. Barry was still leaning into Iris as he whispered in her ear, "I've got to get you out of this rain." He looked at her. "Ms. West, I won't have you blaming me later on for your hair getting wet." He tucked a few strands behind her ear. "Even though I like it when it's curly too." He lifted her up and swung her to the ground and then reached back to grab his sandwich. The skies opened up and the rain came down harder. He picked her up and whooshed her indoors smiling the whole time.


End file.
